These amazing twice-fried Lebanese potatoes were inspired by our dining experience earlier this year at Open Sesame in Los Angeles. Make these potatoes, and if you are anything like me, there won't be any leftovers. (:

June 24, 2019 Updated April 29, 2021 Jump to Recipe
These amazing twice-fried Lebanese potatoes were inspired by our dining experience earlier this year at Open Sesame in Los Angeles. Make these potatoes, and if you are anything like me, there won't be any leftovers. (:
This fantastic dish was inspired by our LA day trip earlier this year. Andrew and I went to a wonderful Lebanese restaurant, Open Sesame, and were completely blown away! The whole meal was to-die-for, but the Lebanese potatoes were the show-stopping plate.
The potatoes were so good that when we came home, I immediately started trying to figure out what the secret was to the amazing texture and bite of each potato. It took me a few nights of intense problem solving, and then just before bed one night, I finally had it! The potatoes must have been twice fried.
And if those amazing Open Sesame potatoes were not twice fried, well, that’s ok, because the Lebanese potatoes I created at home with a twice-frying process are just as amazing—if I do say so myself! And you can enjoy them at home in your pajamas rather than going out. Win-win!
Twice frying the potatoes gives each potato piece a golden, crisp exterior, while keeping the inside of the potato totally creamy. It takes a little more time than frying only once, but OH MY GOSH the result is well worth it! They probably eat twice-fried potatoes in heaven.
To make a meal out of these potatoes, I paired them with some fried chickpeas, and served them over a bed of spinach with a Lebanese “salsa” I created drizzled over the top. This salsa is so unique! The mint in the salsa creates such a beautiful flavor profile with the rest of the herbs and spices.
A few notes:
This meal is completely vegan if you don’t sprinkle fresh feta over everything at the end.
If you aren’t going for vegan, I highly recommend the fresh feta! It is just such a fantastic addition to this dish. And by fresh feta, I mean buy a block of feta cheese and crumple it to pieces yourself—don’t buy the feta that has already been crumpled and put in a little container. Remember, cheese will always taste better when you grate, grind, or crumple it yourself!!!
I use crushed Aleppo pepper in the Lebanese salsa. I ordered my Aleppo pepper from Amazon because I wanted a really authentic pepper from Lebanese cuisine in this salsa. But Aleppo pepper can be a trickier ingredient to find in stores. If you don’t have Aleppo pepper, you could also substitute standard chili pepper flakes, and it would still be a super delicious salsa. But if you can, use Aleppo pepper flakes for a traditional Lebanese kick to this salsa!
I prefer to use Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe, but really whatever white potato you have on hand will be tasty.
If you finish the potatoes before the chickpeas and salsa are ready, just place a cooking sheet with the potatoes on it in the oven. Warm the potatoes up for about 5 minutes at 375 degrees, and both the potatoes and chickpeas will be warm when served!
Lastly, you are really going to want a fryer skimmer for the potatoes! Any other tool will not work as well. You could use a slotted spoon in a pinch, but the nice thing about a fryer skimmer is you can get more potatoes in the hot oil faster, and since this tool has such a long stem, you keep your hands and arms away from that hot oil! Always smart! Here is my favorite fryer skimmer. Definitely a handy kitchen tool!
Ok, now go make these amazing Lebanese potatoes and salsa! If you are anything like me, there won’t be any leftovers. (: